The "Medical Home" model. What is it?

The SHS Medical Home facilitates health care partnerships between individual patients and their primary care provider. To achieve this, all students are assigned to a designated primary care provider and health care team throughout their time at SIU. In addition to the consistency of the primary care provider assignment, the Medical Home model focuses on five key aspects of care: the patient/provider relationship, continuity of care, comprehensiveness of care, quality of care, and accessibility.

The Patient/Provider Relationship

A positive patient-provider relationship has been shown to lead to better health outcomes and higher patient satisfaction. This partnership ensures that health care decisions respect patients’ wants and preferences while addressing their assessment and treatment needs. The partnership strives to foster better communication, understanding and collaboration between patient and provider, improving adherence to a mutually agreed upon healthcare plan.

Continuity of Care

Continuity facilitates consistency in care management and assures that your treatment team documents and reviews all important and relevant information in your clinical record. Southern Illinois University's Student Health Services, has an integrated model of care with all departments and utilizes an electronic health record system that is secure, and shared among the entire care team. The entire care team can easily document treatment plans, outcomes, lab reports, etc. Care team members implement supplemental treatment plans as necessary and communicate these to one another and to the patient.

Comprehensiveness of Care

Your Primary Care Provider will direct and coordinate all aspects of your medical and emotional healthcare needs. Prevention, Management of Chronic Problems, Care of acute illness or injury and appropriate referrals to SIU-SHS resources including Dental, Counseling, Physical Therapy, and Psychiatry, as well as necessary community services with follow up for these problems is the goal of the Patient Centered Medical Home concept.

Accessibility

The Saluki Health Web Portal appointment scheduling system improves timely access to care, with appointments for routine wellness needs, illness treatment and disease management usually available within the same or next business day. Providing access to clinic services helps to ensure that patients pursue wellness resources with optimal convenience to seek early intervention treatment services and promptly address illness or injury. SHS offers tips to help students use the Patient-Centered Medical Home to optimize their care.